1st ride 84 vf700f

Greetings folks,

I just picked up my first bike off ebay for 600 bucks. Pretty decent shape visually for the year it seems.

I basically just wanted to introduce myself, as I have a feeling i'll be visiting this site alot in the near future. ;]

I got the bike with no battery, and was told in the listing that the starter doesn't always engage. Sure enough when i got home and jumped it with a car battery all it did was "Click". The ignition turns on fine, all the lights work fine but it doesn't turn over.

My best guess is that I need to buy a starter for it. Does anyone have a link to a guide showing the location of the starter, and possibly some tips on the removal/replacement?

Well anyway, I'll leave some pictures below. I was told this is a somewhat rare version of the 84 interceptor, any further information anyone might have regarding this particular "lockhart Racing" model would be appriciated.

thanks,
sternzy

 

Alrite, I took the plugs out to see if i could turn the engine over by pushing it. Three plugs looked fine and the last one looks like showed in the picture below(the engine does turn).

Anyone have any idea's about what might cause this?

 

Not good

I would run a bore scope into cylinder and take a look , you may be able to see possible damage by looking down plug hole. Inspect the valve clearance as it will be off wildly if valves are damaged/bent and see if you have compression.Could be nothing but but if cyclinder has a problem it should be easy to find out.

 

Cool, thanks for the tip on the bores cope, didn't know they existed.

I guess I'm going to take the engine off and look inside that cylinder, I would be suprised if no metal got down into the cylinder from the plug, and this way I can see what if any damage was done to the cylinder.

fist things first though, I'm going to take the right side cover off and try and crank the engine over by hand to be certain it's not seized.

Thanks again for the tip on the bore scope. I want one!

 

I took the side cover off, stuck a zip tie down the cylinder in question and turned the engine over by hand (left side cover removed), and there did not appear to be anything moving in that cylinder.

That seems to tell me the piston is seized and is no longer connected to a connecting rod. If this is the case, it's quite possible the block itself has sustained damage correct?

Oddly enough there is no visible trace of metal in the oil whatsoever. I'm not sure what kind of resistance there should be turning the engine by hand with the plugs out, but it turns with minimal to medium pressure on a 3/8 inch ratchet.

 

upon further inspection, there by all counts appears to be a hole blown rite through piston, the zip tie must have been going rite through it. The connecting rod is still attached to the piston and it is still sliding up and down the cylinder smoothly. I was turning the engine in reverse which must have been why it seemed a bit rough. After tuning it the correct direction the engine actually moves pretty smoothly.

I'm currently researching how to remove the carb assembly and the exhaust so i can pull the head. I have everything removed and out of the way except the exhaust and carbs. I have a 4-1 exhaust system and the rear two manifolds seem to be very difficult to get at. I am however taking the front head off, so I'm guessing I can remove the carbs then slide the head up and over the exhaust to remove it from the front of the bike.

Any tips on this process would be greatly appreciated, meanwhile I'll search around for a carb removal guide. Also looking for any tips on how to safety break the seal between the block and the cylinder : )

Problem cylinder is #3 (front right).

 

Carbs are off, thank you Jamie!

Daugherty Motorsports - Motorcycle Suspension Performance and Modification

 

Well, i asked the seller for a refund. I'm guessing I won't get far with that.

I'm split ether way. If he says no I will completely strip the bike down and pc the frame, then start building from there. If he says yes, I fully intend to by a same era vf 700-1000.

I have yet to ride one, but I already know it's the bike i want : )

If i strip it and build, the only thing I'm wary about is finding another engine to go in it that is in decent shape.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0427537843&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT